Conyers man sentenced to life for killing man, injuring girlfriend in 2020
Eric Johnson. Courtesy of DeKalb County District Attorney's Office.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A Conyers man convicted of killing a man and shooting his girlfriend during a domestic violence incident in Stone Mountain has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 25 years.
What we know:
On Feb. 21, a jury found Clinton Eric Johnson, 54, guilty of Malice Murder, two counts of Felony Murder, two counts of Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon or First Offender Probationer, and two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. The charges stemmed from a shooting on Nov. 5, 2020.
DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Nora L. Polk, who presided over the trial, handed down the sentence on April 1.
According to investigators, officers with the DeKalb County Police Department responded to multiple 911 calls about a shooting at an apartment complex on the 4900 block of Central Drive in Stone Mountain. Upon arrival, they found Reggie "Rico" Weatherly, 30, deceased inside a black Buick with gunshot wounds to his back and torso.
Police also responded to a nearby drug store where they located a 39-year-old woman with gunshot wounds to her left leg and right arm. The woman identified Johnson—her boyfriend—as the shooter.
She told officers that she and her 16-year-old son lived with Johnson but had been trying to find a new apartment because he had become possessive and made her fearful. Weatherly had been helping her look for a new place and was showing her around the apartment complex that day. The two were sitting in the Buick when the woman noticed a shadow and saw Johnson attempting to open the passenger door. When he was unsuccessful, he began firing into the vehicle.
Johnson then dragged his girlfriend from the driver’s seat, ordered her into his car, and accused her of cheating. Despite her pleas for medical help, he only dropped her off at a drug store several minutes later, where she and others called 911.
Fearing for her son’s safety, the woman told police that Johnson might return to harm him. Officers with the Stone Mountain Police Department found the teen unharmed at the apartment. Johnson was later located walking his dog nearby. Although he denied involvement, surveillance footage from the drug store showed him dropping the woman off.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Garrett Emmons, with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Ashley Johnson, District Attorney Investigator Jennifer Alaedu, and Victim Advocate Ashley King. Detective Redrick of the DeKalb County Police Department led the investigation. The case was handled by the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit.